Smarter Everything Powered By Afero

Bret Jordan

Smarter Everything Powered By Afero, a podcast on the future of connectivity. We live in a modern hyper-connected world where everything around us is becoming smart and connected.

  1. 10/03/2023

    Enabling the Smart Cities of the Future with CIS's Kathleen Moriarty and Ben Carter

    Kathleen Moriarty & Ben Carter of CIS join Smarter Everything to discuss the importance of preventative security measures within the IoT market and best practices for vendors when trying to build security into their products. Key Takeaways The CIS gathers, normalizes, and shares information on threats and vulnerabilities in a structured manner, which empowers organizations to proactively protect themselves against attacks.When it comes to building security models, the prescriptive guidance that the CIS provides helps organizations save time and valuable resources.Rather than being product-specific, the CIS aims to develop practices that can be scaled and applied over a multitude of markets.Time Stamps 02:33 Defining CIS and what brought Kathleen there07:55 What is an ISAC?11:56 Ben’s job at CIS 13:29 CIS’s motivation for publishing security reports15:58 How Ben got his start in IoT17:40 Biggest challenges in the IoT space24:50 Management scale and sustainability concerns in cybersecurity27:56 Where Kathleen sees the IoT market going in 12 to 24 months29:33 Current influential standards in the industry33:15 Kathleen’s book and what IoT professionals need to pay attention to

    37 min

  2. 09/05/2023

    The Importance of Privacy in the Hyper-Connected World of IoT with Grace Burkard

    Grace Burkard, Director of Operations at ioXt Alliance, is back on Smarter Everything for part two of her conversation with Bret. They discuss the many privacy concerns that have surfaced as new devices have developed, what ioXt is trying to do about, and how world leaders aim to join forces to increase cybersecurity standards. Key Takeaways With the increasing number of IoT devices in our lives, consumers need to be vigilant and demand better security measures for their connected devices.Manufacturers should prioritize security, transparency, and privacy from the beginning to mitigate loss and build trust with consumers.World leaders are collaborating to achieve a unified approach to standards and certifications, enhancing the security and privacy of IoT devices globally.Time Stamps 01:17 The privacy concerns with IoT devices07:12 Things that smart device consumers should be aware of12:40 How consumers can dictate change in the industry17:14 Harmonizing cybersecurity efforts with other world leaders21:49 Predictions in the IoT space over the next 18 to 24 months26:58 How advancements in technology are exceeding past expectations

    30 min

  3. 08/22/2023

    The Future of IoT Security - A Look at the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Program with Grace Burkard

    Grace Burkard, Director of Operations at ioXt Alliance,  joins Smarter Everything to kick off this two-part conversation to discuss ioXt's mission, the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program, and the importance of improving the state of IoT security across the industry.. Key Takeaways The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program aims to create a security baseline for IoT devices. It indicates that a device meets basic security requirements, helping consumers make better buying decisions.The program includes a binary label for easy recognition, along with a QR code that provides more detailed information about the device's security features.These profiles help manufacturers demonstrate their commitment to cybersecurity. Obtaining the mark will differentiate companies from their competitors and will build trust with end users.Time Stamps 02:17 A quick look into ioXt09:49 Defining the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program and what it means for the market14:02 When will this all take place?16:11 Why industry involvement is crucial when new regulations take place19:43 Will U.S. Cyber Trust Mark testing be mandatory?

    22 min

  4. 07/25/2023

    Privacy Concerns in a Hyperconnected, AI-Enabled World

    Saurabh Shintre, an expert in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity is back on this episode of Smarter Everything to address concerns about using natural language processing tools in the workplace and how security measures must adapt to this changing reality — all while remaining optimistic for the future. Key Takeaways While natural language processing systems like ChatGPT may help boost productivity in the workplace, different types of tooling will be necessary to protect sensitive information from leaking into the model.Data that makes it into the model cannot yet be easily removed.  Authentication, authorization, and audit processes should be in place for all AI actions.Time Stamps 02:26 How natural language processing models change computing05:53 Security and privacy concerns with large language models13:34 Positive use cases for AI systems17:43 Natural language processors potential in IoT devices20:14 Where Saurabh sees technology going22:02 New opportunities and change in the AI space

    27 min

  5. 07/11/2023

    Diving into the Black Holes of AI with Saurabh Shintre

    In today’s technologically driven world, AI is developing at a rapid pace. As we embrace the opportunity that this creates, it’s important to be aware of how these systems work. Saurabh Shintre, an expert in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity joins Smarter Everything to discuss generative AI’s potential, natural language processing tools (such as ChatGPT), as well as exploring their current limitations and the challenges of fine-tuning these models. We will also discuss the accuracy of the responses generated, and how this new technology may affect the future of work and education.   Key Takeaways Information that becomes part of the training parameters for these models is not easily removed. They act like “black holes” of information, condensing data from all over the internet, and it’s difficult to see what is actually happening on the inside.The output of language models is probabilistic, and the models can generate irrelevant or non-existent information. These outputs are referred to as “hallucinations”.These systems cannot operate on their own quite yet and still require human oversight.Time Stamps 02:46  Saurabh’s background04:51  What is generative AI, and how is ChatGPT different from earlier ML models?09:44 How ChatGPT learns through human feedback14:28 How the models act like “black holes” of information and the issues this can cause18:49 Thoughts on responses that could be patented or copyrighted information19:55 Large language model temperature values explained21:28 Generative AI and ChatGPT in education

    27 min

  6. 06/06/2023

    How The Home Depot Simplifies Smart Home Tech with Nick Millette

    In this episode, Nick shares how customer feedback is essential for modern-day businesses, and how The Home Depot aims to make Smart Home technology easily accessible to any customer. Listen in to learn what The Home Depot is doing with their Hubspace program. How smart home technology is becoming more prevalent and integrated into everyday devicesHow Hubspace has developed a solution to simplify the setup process for smart home devicesWhy ease-of-use and reliability impact smart home technology adoptionTimestamps 01:45  Ease of use and customer satisfaction05:50  How The Home Depot is enhancing cybersecurity, customer satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness10:39  Helping others love smart technology 15:42  Customer reviews and improving branding and marketing 19:55  Hubspace plans to expand into more product categories while addressing cybersecurity concerns in the market23:50  If you do right by your customers, it will lead to success

    24 min

  7. 05/23/2023

    Creating a Safe and Connected Smart Home: Insights from The Home Depot's Nick Millette

    In this episode, Nick discusses the intricacies of building a smart home and the importance of cybersecurity. He also shares how Home Depot is investing in the smart home market and creating products inside their private label brands to simplify their customer's life. Listen in to learn what The Home Depot is doing with their Hubspace program. The importance of simplifying smart home products and streamlining infrastructureWhy the customer should be at the forefront of all smart device innovationWhy cybersecurity should be a priority in every home device, even light bulbsTimestamps 03:18  Getting to know Nick 05:55  Simplifying the customer experience by incorporating private brands08:38  More about Hubspace 14:35  Breaking the smart home adoption chasm 16:03  Why we need to simplify smart home products20:40  Having an entrepreneurial spirit and customer focus

    26 min

  8. 04/24/2023

    Reverse Engineering Our Connected Life with Waylon Grange

    For this episode of ‘Smarter Everything’ my guest is Waylon Grange, a seasoned security researcher and engineer with a rich background in cryptography, protocol analysis, and industrial control systems. Waylon has dedicated his career to safeguarding enterprise networks, critical infrastructure, exposing threat actors, and understanding the intricacies of malware. We will cover a variety of topics from Industrial Control Systems to Cryptography, and the benefits and dangers that come with them. In addition to these topics, Waylon will share more about his past experiences in helping to defend our very way of life. Key Takeaways How Industrial Control Systems evolve, and what effects they have on our daily lives.Not all smart devices are secure. The danger of smart devices that are connected to important infrastructure. Time Stamps 02:43 What Waylon is working on today 03:45 What are industrial control systems (ICS)?05:12 Waylon’s solar panel project12:33 Dangers in cryptography 15:55 Who is Cloud Atlas / Inception? 22:27 The risks with smart devices connected to critical infrastructure26:08 Waylon’s encounter with a botnet owner30:10 Not all devices are secure31:14 Engagement with law enforcement during a facility pen test38:33 Waylon’s Defcon Black badge40:36 Final thoughts on this upcoming smart and connected world

    39 min
See All (13)

Trailer

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Smarter Everything Powered By Afero, a podcast on the future of connectivity. We live in a modern hyper-connected world where everything around us is becoming smart and connected.

Information